As many as 14,000 high security registration plates (HSRPs) have gone missing from the Ghaziabad warehouse of the Rosemerta Safety Systems Private Limited. Police said they have registered an FIR against two employees of the company under Section 380 (theft) of the Indian Penal Code. Officials of the company said that the issue came to the fore after an audit was conducted from September 6 to 12.
“The audit report was received on September 28. We are also conducting an internal inquiry into the incident. It seems to be an internal issue and not the case that some outside persons gave way to a theft incident. We questioned two of our employees, but they could not provide us with satisfactory answers,” said Ashok Verma, company’s senior manager who is complainant in the case.
“Of the 14,000 number plates, about 9,500 are the front plates of two wheelers and they have not gone missing in a pair. So, there are very less chances if these plates can be misused,” Verma said.
“We have started an investigation in the case, and it will be taken on priority considering that the issue is related to HSRPs. We will also communicate the issue to the other agencies so that any chances of getting these plates misused are minimised,” said Nipun Agarwal, superintendent of police (city 1).
The HSRPs are tamper proof as compared to the conventional number plates. In Uttar Pradesh, the transport department had set the September 30 deadline for installation of HSRPs on vehicles. However, about 600,000 vehicles in the Ghaziabad transport region are yet to install HSRPs, according to official estimates. The Ghaziabad transport region consists of four districts of Ghaziabad, Gautam Budh Nagar, Hapur and Bulandshahr.
